City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the Monday, March 23rd city council meeting. Have a roll call, please. Council member Kern here. Council member Derer here. Council member Bills here. Council member Literal here. Council member Bales here. Vice Mayor Upton here. Mayor Adams here. I'll now turn it over to Council Member Bales or Bills, I'm sorry. I looked right at it and said, "Dails." You'd all stand to join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge

allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. As we gather this evening, we're reminded that this work is about people, our neighbors, families, friends, and the community we all share here in Beaver Creek. May we approach this time with thoughtfulness, care, and a sense of responsibility to serve well. We take a moment to think of those in our community who may be going through difficult times, and we hold them in our thoughts. May our efforts tonight reflect kindness, good judgment, and a genuine commitment to the well-being of everyone who calls Beaver Creek home. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We have an agenda before us. Any additions, correction? Move we approve the agenda, your honor. Second. A motion and a second to approve the agenda. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. Very good. Uh, we have a couple sets of minutes. February 23rd regular meeting minutes. Any changes, corrections, additions? Motion to approve March 9th regular meeting minutes. Second. We need to do February 23rd first. Yeah. Or February 23rd. I'm sorry. It's all right. All right, then. I uh approve motion to approve February 23rd regular.

Second. I have a motion and a second to approve February 23rd minutes. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I. Opposed. And now we have the March 9th minutes. Any corrections, additions. You want to try it again? I'll try it again. Motion to approve March 9th regular meeting minutes. Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the March 9th regular meeting minutes. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. We have a pres-scheduled speaker, Chief Lindsay. With some good news about the police department. Yes.

All right. Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of council. So, it's my privilege tonight to recap our 2025 department awards that we presented at our annual department meeting on March 11th. And I've got a few slides here. So, I'll go through and recap the awards uh just kind of summarize without getting into too much detail about all the specific incidents. Yeah, that's I'm going to start off with um as he's pulling that up the first slide. We have a citizen survey tool called Power Engage that we've used for three years now. And so just a kind of a reminder, the way it works is on a select uh number of call types, the day or two after officers respond to a certain call, we'll send a text message survey to the caller uh to the citizen who called and requested service. So um the first slide shows our 2025 results of the surveys. up or down. There we go. All right. So, there's the results of our surveys. So, 2025, the total survey count, you can see how many that were sent out. And then the response rate, 36%, which is very good response rate, and it's actually our best survey tool that we that we've ever used. And one reason we went to that three years ago is just because of the nature of it. getting survey responses through text messages

is a lot easier for people. So, we present this as part of our annual meeting every year. It's kind of a a friendly rivalry that we have between patrol and communications. Um, and you know, this is this is one aspect of it to where they kind of get some bragging rights to see who has a higher score. But as you see there, the total citizen positive satisfaction score out of all those responses over 96%. And then you see the the response rate for patrol officers and communications because those surveys allow the caller to rate both of those divisions. So uh I also want to point out each of those scores is the highest that we've ever received for those categories in the into the third year. So it's just absolutely amazing results and reflects um you know on our professionalism and our service that we provide. Uh obviously the dispatchers were were better in 2025 than the patrol officers. So they had they had fun with that at the meeting, but um but we're we're we're proud of of the service we provide and this is just an example um based on the citizen results. Okay. So community awards. First slide. Uh, every year we have an officer that's awarded the Green Optimist award and the Knights of Columbus award. So Cynthia Pley receives the green optimus which is presented to an officer who inspires respect for law enforcement among young people and who aids and encourages the development of youth in the belief that the giving of one's service and self I'm sorry giving of oneself and service to others will advance the well-being of humankind community life and the world. So Cynthia Pley she's our DARE officer in our elementary SRO. She's been with the PD for about 11 years. Uh, and has been the the DARE officer since 2023.

So, she received that award. The Blue Coat award, Knights of Columbus Blue Coat, went to Olivia Zar. She's been with us a little over two years, and it's presented to an officer in recognition of service and commitment to their community and their church. And then the other community award that we got this year, the Miami Valley Crimes Stoppers Unit of the Year, went to our root team, regional emergency response team, which is made up of uh officers, tactical operators and negotiators, uh obviously our department, and then also Fairborn and Huber Heights. So, this award is presented to the unit that consistently does an outstanding job and goes above and beyond the call of duty. So they won that unit of the year award for the entire Miami Valley. Letters of recognition that we awarded uh are presented to officers based on specific acts or achievements showing above average initiative and effort. So um we had several officers and and dispatchers receive that. Sergeant Robert Lee, officers David Ashworth, Kaylee Barren, David Durkin, Trevor Holly, Caroline Sinsman, Michael Traml and Katie Gee, Detective Bethany Moriceet received a letter of recognition, and then dispatchers Kayn Hinsky and Britney Klouse. And then also we is uh presented one department commendation which is a little bit higher level of award that goes to outstanding performance or achievement and that went to officer Katie Gee. And just to kind of point um just give you a little background on that award. She it was in response to you may remember the uh we had an event in a neighborhood. that it was a large party with juveniles and uh gunshots u happened as you know as a result of that

event and Katie Gee was off duty at the time. she lives in the area, but she responded to help with the officers. Um, uh, issued a 99, which is basically calls for for support from other agencies in the surrounding area just because the number of kids that were there and while we're trying to piece everything together and figure out what's going on. So, she did that and then she also uh her neighbor, she contacted them just to make sure they were okay. uh the parents weren't home, but there was some u teenage kids and then a younger kid there. So, she went over to their house and stayed with them during the entirety of the event while the parents were on their way home. So, all of this was done while she was off duty. So just a just an example um of of great service and and kind of kind of an illustration of how we're always actually on duty and and always prepared to act if the situation arises. So all of them did a great job. Um and now we'll move on to a new award that we issued this year. the OVI enforcement award who's awarded annually to the officer who demonstrates exceptional commitment and professionalism in traffic safety and impaired driving enforcement as reflected by recording the highest number of OVI arrests within the department during the calendar year. So he had 13 OVI arrests. Um so that requires obviously a lot of initiative and a lot of uh dedication to traffic enforcement and making sure our our streets are safe. Another new award that we had, the life-saving award, uh was presented to officer Joseph Desardens. And this award in the past was kind of wrapped into another award that we we present called the meritorious. So we decided to separate it out this year and actually make it its own specific award.

So, this is awarded to an employee whose actions directly save or significantly contribute to saving a human life through providing emergency medical aid, rescue operations, or intervention in life-threatening situations, whether prior to or in conjunction with other emergency medical services. So, um, Officer Desard has been with us for for about four years. And in this event, uh, you know, there was a person that was unconscious, had a medical event, unconscious, not breathing. There were medical personnel that were there to assist with CPR, and when Officer Desard got there, he he activated the AED. Uh, obviously quick thinking, grabbed that, assisted with the AED, and the person was was eventually saved from that. and the medical personnel that were on scene later told us that if it were not for his his actions and his quick thinking getting there and utilizing the AED, you know, the the result may have been different. So, uh, he did a great job in in that situation. All right. Next up, we presented 25 years of dedicated service to Captain Scott Molar, who started June 5th, 2000, and Sergeant Brian Klene uh August 28th of 2000. Uh both of them have had many responsibilities and assignments throughout their careers and uh obviously by their supervisory status they're they're excellent leaders for us and mentors for for a lot of the officers especially because we have a relatively young department now. So uh they're invaluable with their leadership and their mentorship. And currently Captain Molnar is over the special service division. Uh, Sergeant Klein's also in special services. So that's that is uh supervising the detectives and our community engagement function. So that

is their their primary role at this point. All right. Another new award that we presented this year, COP team of the year, which is presented for outstanding service, teamwork, dependability, and commitment to the COP program. So that went to Jim Madson and John Fiser. And uh just to give you an idea, they have a combined 668 hour 668.5 volunteer hours over the course of 2025. Uh Jim had 329 hours and John had 339.5 hours and that's obviously assisting with a variety of community events, uh department initiatives, uh patrol operations, just everything they do to assist. So, their reliability and and consistency, we wanted to recognize uh them, the team effort that they they put forth through that. And then finally, wrapping up with our volunteer and employees of the year. So, the COP and just a reminder, the Citizen on Preventative Patrol, obviously our volunteer program, Sarah McClur, and she's been with us for about two and a half years. Uh Ashley Stone, the dispatcher, she's been with us about eight years. And then Travis Solers, who also won the O OVI award, has been with us a little over two years. So the employees of the year we recognize for their consistently displaying a positive attitude, high degree of teamwork and achievement towards the mission and the department goals throughout the year. So, these three people throughout the course of 2025, consistent professionalism in in all of their tasks. Often, they go above and beyond. Um, you know, more than just more than just their normal day-to-day operations. They're they're looking for other ways that they can help and assist the

department and the community. So, uh, welldeserving of this award and, um, obviously Travis has only been here a little over two years, so he he's made a big impact already in the work that he does. Um, and then Ashley, we have uh she's on her midnight shift and we had a couple new dispatchers that she basically took under their under her wing on the midnight shift and did a great job with them and just kind of training them and helping them throughout their their first well their first year in the department. So very welld deserving. Um, and that's so that's a recap of the awards that we presented. Um, and I'm proud to recognize them and obviously uh, you know, our staff does a lot of amazing work and they do a great job and often that does not get formally recognized, but we don't expect formal recognition and quite frankly a lot of us kind of shy away from it. We we don't mind when we don't get formally recognized. Um, but I do want to say how much that we support or appreciate council support and the city manager support and then also the citizens. We had several citizens behind us tonight. Um, I constantly and consistently receive emails, letters from citizens who are thanking us for for our service and also specific situations that officers or dispatchers help them out with. So the officers feel that support and you know on behalf of the department I I just want to thank all of you and our citizens for for all the support that they give to the police department. Thank you.

I want to thank you too and congratulate all these uh officers and civilians and then thanks to all of your officers. They do a great job keeping us all safe. So we really appreciate it. Thank you. Next up, public hearing PC09-5.

PC09-5 mod 2/26. An application filed by Joe Yaust, 2800 Corporate Exchange Drive, Sweet 400, Columbus, Ohio 43231. The applicant requests a major modification to case PC09-5 to allow for the construction of a 3,90075 square foot banking facility on 3.174 acres. The property is located at 1231 North Fairfield Road, further described as book five, page 7, parcel 120 on the Green County Property Tax atlas.

Do we have an applicant here? Please come forward. State your name and address for us, please.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Ya, 2800 corporate centers drive, Columbus, Ohio. Um, representing CESO Incorporated. We're the architecture and engineering firm that's handling this project with Dayair. I have Miss Amy from Dayair with me here as well. Um, so just to kind of go through quickly what we're doing here, uh, client spotlight. So, um, Beaver or Day Air already has a branch in Beaver in the Beaver Creek Market in the Dayton Xenior Road area. Uh, this new branch is to better help serve current members. Uh, they've purchased the former FR's Big Boy site. Um, with the plans to demolish the restaurant, uh, put a new building in place and reuse as much of the existing site as we can. I'll show you here. There's kind of a comparison of the existing site plan versus the proposed site plan. Um, we're really trying to we don't have all the parking requirements that a restaurant would have. So, we're trying to add green space and landscape space within the plan here uh in the areas that we're removing. So, if you notice there on the front side um as you enter the site, we're not changing anything with the entrance, but as you enter the site, you can go left or right. And that's a easement that I believe you all hold. Um, but to the further south there, there's a row of parking spaces that's towards Fairfield Drive that we're going to remove and turn that into green space. Uh, and then there's a grouping of diagonal parking spots there, uh, that we're also going to remove and add some green space there, uh, as well. the way the building's sighted. We're moving it forward um a few feet to kind of cut down on that front yard as well as give more visibility to our space. Um we're moving the drive-thru to the side of the

building now um to help with sound and and queuing as we go back through. And when staff starts talk when staff goes through their report, they'll kind of hit on that a little bit more. So that's our site. Uh the new building is a 3,975 foot new build. It includes six offices, a conference room, waiting area, break room, maintenance and storage rooms. Uh there's two terods with a work work room that takes care of two a two-lane drive-thru. The drive-thru is actually two ITMs, so there's not a trans transaction drawer there. They're an ITM, which is very similar to an ATM if you're not familiar. uh some 2D color elevations. The plans to use two different color bricks and a stone at the base. Um lots of glass curtain wall there on the corner for the entrance. You see the rear of the building there at the top. There's a small patio on the rear for employees with a little roof over top of it. And then here's the 3D renderings. Uh the one in the top left corner would be at the entrance as you come in. That would be what you'd see. The one to the right, top right there would be if you're at the West Bank lot looking at our building, that's what you'd see. And then uh the bottom right is the drive-thru, a shot of the drive-thru. And that's all I have.

Great. Thank you. Thank you very much. Super. Thank you, staff.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the city council, the case you have before you is PC 09-05. This is a modification to an existing Azera. Um if uh council may recall back, well, it's been a while, but back in 2009 um it the property went through the Azer process for the fricious um and in order to amend it, it's very similar to the modification of a specific site plan within a PUD. So, this is a major modification to the detailed site plan that was approved in 2009. Um, the applicant pointed out a lot of the information. I'm so I'm going to go through this a little quickly, but uh the project's located in central Beaver Creek. It's just uh west of where Beaverview Drive and North Fairfield Road have a traffic signal. Um this is the existing site as it is. Um there is a north uh north south connector up to west banko which is the property just north of this uh this property and there is an easement all the way down to the southern property line of this property. So, the intent eventually would be to extend that as a secondary access all the entire length of North Fairfield from as far south as we can go up to the existing uh shopping center at the corner to to help people uh access the light at Beaverview Drive rather than trying to take a left out of a non signalized u access point at the current shopping center. The property is zone B2, but it does fall within a plan development area on the the current land use plan. And so, uh, as such, that's that triggers the requirement for the Azro process. To the south is a B4. It's actually a vacant former auto parts store. U, it's been

vacant for for a while. Um, there's also a a small insurance shop just to the um just to the south as well. To the west is R1A as well as to the northwest is R1A. Um the immediate west is part of uh Dayton Power and Light AES. It's part of their substation uh ground and then to the northwest is some single family residential. When Fris was approved in 2008, there was a 50- foot buffer. Um that hasn't changed. It's more than 50 feet actually from that residential area. Um, and there's several pine trees in that look between the this development and that residential neighborhood. And those aren't planned to be touched and they'll remain. So, they're mature pine trees. Uh, seen here is a site plan. So, they're they're not changing the access. It's still off of the the signalized intersection. Um, on the north side of the building, um, and on the east side of the building, it's two-way traffic. And then as you hit that northwest corner, it becomes oneway traffic where you have two drive-through lanes and then one bypass lane uh if you choose not to go through the drive-thru. I did the math and if you get back to before you get to the northern parking area, there's room for approximately 20 cars to stop stack in the drive-thru before you actually even meet the first parking area on the north. So, we're not concerned about stacking with this. Um, being that they're it's an ITM, it's there's several banks in the in the city that have quite a few less than 20. Um, and plus there's a external access drive. So, um, you you'd have to have several several cars to get anywhere near North Fairfield Road. In terms of parking, um, based on the floor plan and, uh, with this site,

they're required to have 30 parking spaces, they've reduced the on on-site parking down to 34 with this plan. So, they're still, while they are having less, they do have less impervious surface, they still well meet the uh, the code requirements for parking. That's just an overlay to see how it relates to the existing site. And you can see where they removed some of the uh the parking spaces in the southwest southeast corner and push and a row of parking along the west side of that access road. Uh applicant did a good job of pointing out the building where they got the four-sided architectural features uh mostly brick and stone with uh glass accent features. Same pictures that he showed a few minutes ago. Um, in terms of the landscaping plan, I highlighted in dark green all the all the landscaping that's going to remain with this. It's there now and it's going to remain and then in light green is the landscaping that they'll be adding as as a part of this application. So, it'll be a good mixture of the the mature landscaping to help buffer this with the neighborhood to the northwest and then um new landscaping to that that'll be viewed from North Fairfield Road and rejuvenate the site. In terms of signage, they show wall signage on the both the north and the east elevations. Um actually, FRCS has signage on three of the four elevations. So, uh, they have less signage in the fricious and they're reusing the existing ground sign, just refacing it with their, um, their logo and and their sign face on the ground sign. So, it is consistent, uh, with what you have now. There are 17 conditions in the motion for your consideration. Took this to planning commission earlier this month and and they recommended approval and staff does recommend approval of this request and be happy to

answer any questions following the public hearing. Thank you. Thank you very much. This is a public hearing. So if anyone would like to come forward and speak to this, uh, please come to the microphone and state your name and address and you will have three minutes.

Seeing none, I will close the public portion of this public hearing. and council, anything? Um, I really appreciated the plan. I I think it's a lovely building. I also appreciated uh decreasing the impervious surface um and thinking about green space and also the consideration for the residents for lighting. Um I thought it was a very thoughtful plan. I appreciate that. Thank you.

I only have one. Um, I guess I can ask Randy the um on this the the southernmost corner of this property. Is there an exit going straight out to Fairfield Road there? Is there two there? There's like one entrance, but there's also two exits. Am I looking at that right? Because I see an arrow

at the bottom corner there. So, there's going to be another exit. I mean, you'll be able to get to that uh access drive that uh ultimately gets up to the light. I mean, there's a two-way in in front of the building, just to the west of the building, it is two-way two-way uh traffic. Um but when you're we're trying to maintain um on the south side of the building oneway traffic. So, I think the intent is to make sure that people don't turn left when they're coming out of that uh those front parking spaces. Right. But that I am looking at that right there isn't there is an exit there right? Yes.

And was there any thought into trying to put something up to prevent them people trying to make left hand turns out of there? I just know that's a bad area right there. It may it may improve whenever the intersection work is done there at Beaverview Drive. Maybe I'm Maybe I'm uh the very far corner, the bottom of the Don't think No, I don't think there What is this arrow pointing to right here? Looks like it's an exit going out on Oh, that's I was confused a little bit. Yeah, okay.

I zoomed in too far. That's all I got. It looks like

Thank you, mayor. Uh, I'd like to thank the applicant. I think this is a very nice project. Um, a lot of investment required for it and so I think uh should it pass uh really great uh improvement to the area. Want to thank planning commission as well. a lot of great work uh that goes on there and this is no exception and uh I think also useful for the customers in Beaver Creek because I drive by the other day air on Dayton Zeni out by Koi Middle School regularly and centralizes the location for a lot of the population. So really very good and Mr. Rubric, as we've discussed many times, we're just we're at the redevelopment stage in Beaver Creek and this is uh I think an excellent example and thank you for your work and especially with the stacking and drive-thru and attention to detail. Uh thank you. I have three questions, mayor. Mainly dotting eyes and crossing tees. I think uh all directed towards Mr. Briquette. I don't think anything too earthshattering. Um just um yeah, check my eyes as well. Uh there's a northern access road. Uh, is there going to be anything done to it or is it the existing 25 ft? And am I reading that correctly that it is 25 ft?

It's an existing uh access road. Um, and it is 25 ft. No changes. Okay. Thank you.

The west side of the property there is a what's called a detention bush easement. Um, can you describe that in more detail? what it does, how it changes from the existing. Yeah, they're they're not changing anything with the the detention pond. Um since they're decreasing the impervious surface, there's no need for additional storm water detention and they can use the existing one as is the depths. So that's the followup. the depth is how how deep um give us and if that's you know too specific a question um I just couldn't see it on the right

the plans and I I really don't have any concerns but I yeah I I I believe it's about 10 feet the the bottom is about 10 ft from the parking lot so it's it's a significant depression in the area um and it's it's well sized I mean they I Remember back in 2008 when they were doing this, they also accounted for some storm water that was coming from the north that was affecting the uh properties south of this. So they encapsulated some of that water too. Appreciate it. That was my point of concern. And so just yeah dotting eyes, crossing tees. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Councilman Kern.

Thank you, your honor. First of all, I'd like to uh thank Deair. I think you've done an excellent job in the way that this is uh placed and uh Deair someone you can bank on. Right. Two points. Uh the concrete edging u is that going to remain when you go around the west end of the property and around there's an a concrete curb. Will that come down or is No, they'll have to if whatever they're cutting they'll have to put back with new uh curbing. There'll be no okay no flush with the grass.

The second point was the the the light poles remain as they are. Will there be any change in the intensity of the light? No. Um they're proposing some wallpack lighting. It's more decorative than anything, but there's minimum lighting standards because of safety issues and Okay. Um there's no intended or there's no anticipated real change with the lighting. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor.

Council Bales. Thank you. Uh just one question. Um I appreciate the redevelopment. Is this a supplement to the existing Day Air Credit Union or is it going to replace the operation? I believe the intent was to supplement. They're not they're not from my understanding they're not planning on taking down the existing or removing the existing day. um that this was an additional um place for current customers to go and I'm sure they want to increase their base as well too. Is that consistent with the applicant? Could you uh could you come to the mic please?

Sorry about that. We believe it's a replacement for the existing. Yeah. Okay. So, Beaver Creek Township will have to find another credit union might need something. Thank you, Vice Mayor Upton. Uh, nothing that hasn't already been said. Thank you to the applicant. Uh, the building looks beautiful. I appreciate that in a high visible spot in our community. So, appreciate the extra time and effort uh you put into making it look as good as it does.

I agree. Thank you. I think it's going to make that uh corner a lot better looking than it is right now. And uh I think anything to beautify it a little bit is is a good thing because it's been kind of a blight for the last year and a half or so. So, thank you for that. All right. Do I have a motion?

Yeah. I'll move for the purpose of taking administrative action approval of administrative site plan review for PC09-05 day air credit union mod 2-26 on the basis that city council finds the facts submitted with the application and accompanying materials satisfy the standards and criteria set forth in section 158.080 standards and criteria for Azra approval and section 158.0 084 modifications to approved detailed site plans of the Beaver Creek zoning code. I further move that this motion with all of its conditions be fully recorded in the minutes of this council meeting.

Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the specific site plan for this Azra. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Very good. Go build your building. Next up, ordinances, resolutions, and PUDs. Ordinance 26-10. Ordinance 26-10, an ordinance by Beaver Creek City Council enacting a new chapter 39 income tax to the codified ordinances of the city of Beaver Creek. This is a second reading and apparently staff has some more to say.

Yes. So we do have a minor modification to uh the ordinance that was approved at the last meeting um based on a a meeting uh with uh um citizens. Um they had asked that the uh ordinance indicate clearly that this would be a permanent elimination of these prop the property tax levies that were identified in that ordinance. um effective starting um tax year 2027. Uh we would uh we have made those modifications there before you. Um they've been uh reviewed with by legal counsel who agrees they're minor modifications only clarifying the existing language. Uh there was no change needed to the um tax code because that was already stated clearly as um tax year 2027 and beyond. So indicating that it was a permanent uh elimination of those levies. Um so we would recommend approving this modification. It's a clarification from legal just to make sure this is just a minor clarification. Really would have to amend it to accept that.

Yes. Make a motion to amend it, but it would not be substantive enough to require a third reading or another public hearing. Um the charter says it has to be a substantive change to for those things. And here it's just clarifying what later on is pretty clear if you read the actual attached like what the changes are going to be. All right. Thank you. So, I have a motion to amend. Is there any bring up on that? Well, I've got a This is to amend. This is just to amend. And then we're going to then we're going to There'll be more. Yes.

This is just to amend it because we have to get to that point so we actually know what we're talking about. Well, we get there. Mayor, it looks like a typo on page 57. Uh, under the second reading, uh, very bottom of the page, it says property tax levies to be eliminated would be permanently eliminated beginning in the tax year 2017. I assume 2027. That that is correct. And I apologize. I saw that as I was preparing for what I was going to say at this meeting. Um, yeah, that and that's on the council summary that we agenda summary. So,

that would be a scrivener's error, but we can add that to the the amendments if we're going to do it. May as well put it together. Okay. Could staff or Mr. Lounberry read through the motion of the amendment or I guess read through the amendment you would like us to have the motion on. I think you can well so show the different changes if you're able to. So 59 I would say well and there's the one on the

Yeah. So there there on two sections it it where it had previously said we'll eliminate collection of the following levies in tax year 2027. It was always the intent that that would be the year that we would start the elimination of those property tax levies. Um, so we we've added the word permanently and then made it clear that beginning in which year and that appears in two different sections of that ordinance. And David, is that attached those changes that are included in the attachments?

Uh, yes. I'm just trying to find the pages since there's so many so many pages. I think you can the motion to amend as uh shown on page 30 whatever the pages of the packet would be sufficient. Uh I'm flipping flipping flipping 59 59 right? Yeah.

Yeah. I would say motion to amend as as um written on page 59 of the packet. And where is the scrivener's error? 57 very bottom of it of the page. That's not within the ordinance though. Is not within the ordinance. Oh yeah. Then that doesn't even That's not required to be a that's just the staff u report. So yeah, I would just do a motion to amend as shown on page 57 of the materials

or 59. Sorry, 59. I'll make a I'll make a motion to amend the ordinance on page 59 of the ordin of the packet uh to reflect the language that's stated permanently terminate the collection beginning in tax year 2027. Second. All right. I have a motion and a second to amend page 59 to clarify what uh has been stated. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. I

opposed. All right. Normally on a second reading, we don't do public input, but there's some people that said that they wanted to u address council. Is there any problem with that? Okay. We'll follow the same rules that we normally do. If you want to come up and speak a motion to reopen public input. Yeah, I'll make a motion to reopen public input. Second. I have a m a motion and a second to reopen public input. All those in favor signify by saying I. I opposed.

All right, we'll follow the same rules. You got three minutes. Come to the microphone, state your name and address. You can have up to six minutes donated to you by someone else in the uh uh audience. So, you could have up to a total of nine minutes. I want to thank the two Harold Lewis 1423 town hall. I want to thank the two council members, Sarah Bills and Pete for having us the meeting the other day. I think it was very good, but I've still got concerns. Same concerns I've had all along over this income tax, earnings tax, whatever you want to call it. number one that the city charter right now says no income tax without a vote of the public. My concern right now it's even bigger than it has been the past. We got a state legislature that's hey we're going to have to do something with property tax if they pass it. My concern is last time we had an income tax, we had the issue of the 16 year olds being taxed. So what' the state do? The state came out and said, "Hey, if there's nothing in your city charter that prohibits it, you can tax all the way down to age 16." Since then, in 2024, they've changed that. They've gone back. You have to be 18. My concern right now is what's going to keep the state from coming out and saying, "Hey, city council, unless you say otherwise, you can increase these uh the earnings tax, say half percent." I'm being hypothetical without a vote of the public. I want to see something in there that prohibits that. There is nothing right now in here that's going to represent any change in

the city charter that pertains to the earnings tax. I don't know why you all are so reluctant to do that. Put some wording in there. It's 1%. It's going to be this. It's going to be that. Why are you reluctant to do it? It makes absolutely no sense at all to do that. Unless it's done, I'll vote against it. Okay? I want I would be very careful about this. The other thing is we talked about pots of money. When I was on the charter review commission, we had two communities that well, we looked at their charters and they had pots of money set aside. Like, don't hold me on the numbers, but like no more than 20% for roads, no more than 40% for police, no more than 10% for long-term indebtness. If you had all those percents up, add more than 100%. So, it gave you some flexibility. I'll be darned if I'm gonna give this council that kind of money with do with what you want. What you want to do with it is probably what different than what he wants to do with it. And yes, you can spend it on whatever you want. We just want some controls on that money. If I'm going to take money from young married families, forget the seniors, okay? I'm a senior. I won't have to pay this tax, but I'll be darn if I'm going to take money from some young family out there in order to build a new city hall without a vote of the public. I know, Mr. Curran. Boom. But that's okay. Frown if you want, but we want some controls over this money. The levies gave us controls. You have no controls whatsoever. You You won't get my vote on it. Won't get my support. Thank you.

Congratulations to the new um city councils. My name is Edward Maloof. I live on 4128 Nettleton Point in beautiful Beaver Creek, Ohio. Well, you know, it's amazing some things never change. You folks are at it again, the city income tax. Now, I got some questions to ask you. Number one, I'll just say it won't affect any senior citizens. Are you going to put in there that 401ks and ISAs will be exempt from this? Because Ohio does tax 401 and IRAs if they're not Roth. That is considered income. and municipalities, according to the last thing I read in Ohio, you guys have the right to tax it. Are you going to put that in there saying it's exempt? So, you can't go around saying it won't affect senior citizens. Second of all, I think this is all pre-mature. I know you guys have been chomping on the bit since I lived here to get a uh income tax. Well, you know, I'm against it. I'm on I'm a zone captain for abolish the property tax. Have you guys talked to your legislators? Have you talked to the state to see what happens when this passes? Have you guys been talking about like other counties have been talking about what they're going to do when it happens? Have you discussed ways of funding without running to taxing? Have you talked about it? Have you seen what the other five states are doing? This is all premature. It's all premature. You went to that university for that study. I sat in on that study. That was the biggest joke I've ever seen. Really? I won't send my kid to that college or my grandson. It's ridiculous. You guys been pushing it and pushing it. Okay, we have a major ballot initiative which is the number one topic in the state of Ohio. I'm out there. I'm talking to the people. I'm his own captain. I'm getting signatures. People are mad. Actually, I should be happy for what you're doing because this is going

to push him over the edge to vote for it. I don't think you guys have really done your homework. Okay, you've got 14 months when this passes to decide what you're going to do. How are you going to fund police and fire? Have you thought about maybe building individually for services without tying it to property tax? I just keep hearing income tax, income tax. And also, are you going to put the language saying that you cannot raise it even if it's a half a percent unless it is voted on by the people? This is just too open-ended and there's just not enough information. And what are you going to do when the new governor steps in? We have new legislature and he says that he's going to abolish income taxes. What's What are you going to do then? Are we going to go back to the drawing board? Have you guys really done it? Have you been to Columbus? I don't know. I'm asking, have you been to Columbus? Have you talked to Brian Lampton, our representative? Have you talked to our state senator to see what they're talking about? I mean, really, I just think it's all very immature uh premature. I don't think you guys really have done your homework because this is something you guys have been pushing for a long time. I'm quite surprised though you put it on the ballot this year. But you know, like I said, some things never change. I give you credit. I think you went a year without doing it. But anyway, by the way, I my wife will donate my three minutes if I need.

Please come to the microphone. State your name and address. Maloo 4128 point and I'll give my time.

Thank you. All I'm saying is you guys are going to have to do a lot of homework when the if this abolish property tax passes, you have the opportunity to do something really great. The state might allow you to have a city income tax. Okay, fine. They might change the way it's done. I just don't feel that you guys have done your homework. I don't feel that you you really this is just the same old same old same old same old. I don't see you guys taking in the current situation of what's going on. And that's what my concern is now. You know, you might I might choke you, but maybe next year I might have to be in here saying, "Yeah, I kind of agree with you guys, but I can't agree with this. I can't support this at all. It's just too open-ended. Um, it's just going to be a hassle. It's just going to be more burden on the people. Um, levies, all the levies are going to go away or will there ever be another levy if this income tax passes? And how is it going to lower my property tax? It doesn't. If this gives you guys money to spend any way you want, how you want. That's all it does. And folks, you haven't been the best stewards of the town's money. I will say that. You really haven't. And this town is mad. The people are mad. I'm seeing it. I'm talking to them. I'm not talking to the inner circle. I'm out there talking to them. I'm talking to seniors. I'm talking to young people. I'm talking to um all types of people signing the petition. They're upset. Even David Yoast, David Yoast even said, "Pay attention. The electric is mad. You guys don't seem to care. Let's get the 1% tax." So, you're happy. You get it. Then what? in a year you raise it and then what happens? You don't have any plan for it. You just want to get this money and you want to spend it. Take some time and do your

homework. Take your time and do a good doge of Beaver Creek. Make sure you are running efficiency. Make sure you're doing it right and then come up with the plan of what you need. Problem with Ohio and here is we don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem. And also, you know, you keep complaining the schools to schools to schools. Well, you know something? Why don't you guys stand up and do something right? Go after your legislature for the money. Ohio Constitution, Article 6, Section Two, the State Legislature will fund the public schools. 1997, the Supreme Court of Ohio, the highest court in the land, said it was unconstitutional for the way we fund public schools. And you can't use property tax to do it. None of you have paid attention. Oh, we'll fix it. We'll have an income tax. Come on, guys. You're smart people. I know some of you. You're bright. You're intelligent. You're good businessmen. Why don't you really get together and do it right this time? That's all I have to say. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Good afternoon again. Bob Trout, 2187 Basset Court. And I did see the proposal on eliminating some of the uh levies that are existing, things like that. But there's one that I still have heartburn with and that is for that new community authority that is across going to be across from uh Springhouse Park at the city council voted in. It wasn't voted in by by the people 4.5 million mill and it's for an exorbitant period of time 25 years. I think that needs to be added to your list of of levies that are going to be removed and no longer funded in there. It hasn't even started anything in it, but the fact is that we're treating our potential new residents and taking money that they have no hold in or anything else like that. I think that is wrong. But again, I am a little bit concerned. I have read all the articles and everything else like that uh and information I am still on the fence but from my personal opinion says anybody that asks I'm going to tell them says until they give us a fair shake and including the new residents that are coming in I can't support it. So being honest about it letting you folks know. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Dave Brown. I live at 140 Shelford Way in Beaver Creek. I'm the treasure of Taxbusters Pack and Dave Roberts is the chair. Um, I've submitted comments and questions to finance director and to council and then um met with them and they answered uh my questions very well and I appreciate um council members bales and bills um doing that and also uh the finance director Mr. program. Uh tax busters has contested all impact in income tax proposals by the city beginning with the first one in 1984. So we go way back. There have been five or six total. Um this time there are different factors involved. However, which really impact whether we have an inact or or not. And um so there's a lot to consider this time. Uh it was easier the last six times. Um so but uh one thing I think we need to look at is why maybe our property taxes are higher than they should be. And I think that's largely due to the state legislators who have been attacking property taxes in Ohio. And um this recent attempt some joint house resolution 7 is an example of that. Um

uh you know as tax busters um at least I'm still formulating my position and um because there are factors that are changing in the state constantly and we're we're also considering the finance director's input. So that's all I have to say. Thank you very much. Um hello, my name is Julie Moore. I live at 4360 Hobnail Court in Beaver Creek. Um and I would just want to say that I'm totally for um the income tax. Um, I think uh we have hardworking employees in uh Beaver Creek that need to be paid. Um they're not volunteers. They're not doing it for free. Um I've worked well now I'm retired so this will not affect me. However, my whole life I've worked and my whole life I've paid income tax. I didn't have a problem with it. Um so um now are are you guys paid?

You are. Okay, good. Anyway, so the thing is is that um that is the bottom line. I think um we have a lot of services just because like maybe I don't have a police officer coming to my house today. I never know when I need one. So um it's nice to have that um service available to me. Um and uh like obviously I'm not going to Beaver Creek schools, but it's good to know that um my grandson will be getting um a teacher that is paid um well. Um so that's all I wanted to say and good for you for doing what you're doing and um I think it's a great idea.

Thank you. Good evening, council. Josh is 1463 South Long View Street. Uh I've read through the tax plan and I had some feedback. Uh I always always appreciate feedback. Um particularly for the citizens. Uh my miaaka on this one is I'm kind of tax neutral. So uh being a business owner here in town and a resident, it's kind of a wash for me. So that that said, I did appreciate uh the shifting to what I consider a more fair tax for Beaver Creek citizens. Um we are we are a senior community. Uh a lot of our folks are 55 or older. I'd say the majority of our citizens are considering um accounting to the uh aging in place survey we did recently. Um those folks tend to or either be slowing down employment or retired themselves. Um and as as we heard previously, some uh some is uh retirement income is taxable. Um but in many cases for many of our folks, our seniors particular will receive a 50% property tax for the city portion discount, a reduction, as well as shifting the tax base to an income or earnedbased model will I think more fairly reflect uh what is fair for this town and this community. Uh particularly for our retirees. Um, we've heard I've heard uh and been approached by other citizens um asking about the shift between youth and uh

seniors for the tax burden. For me, I I've been blessed uh to be a grandson all about to two years ago, but still a son with aging parents here in town. I understand the burden our property tax plays on them. I as a son will happily bear that burden for any of our seniors and I believe that most Beaver Creek citizens my age would do so without question. I liked particularly in this tax the built-in accountability and let me let me describe that a little bit more. I understand that this money, the revenue generated by this tax will go to the general fund and not be tied to a particular levy. As a Beaver Creek res resident, I appreciate that. That will give you guys the freedom and the flexibility to respond to emergencies and disasters that sometimes hit our fair community. Another point that leaves me, John Q citizen, in the driver's seat when it comes to city council. If I don't like the way or if any of the citizens don't like the way the money spent, every other November we get a say in that. And I believe that's how it's supposed to be. Um, not to be uh not to note our calendar coming up. We are having reassessments later this fall. We get no say as citizens about our taxability based on that. So again, I appreciate uh what you guys have done here. And while I'm up here, everybody take a chance uh go check out the Richie family from Parkwood. They're going through some turmoil. I'm sure little Wyatt would appreciate anything you guys can have to offer to them.

Thanks.

Thank you very much. Good evening everyone. I'm Debbie Alvarico, 529 Telawwood Drive, Beaver Creek. And I think y'all have done your homework very well. And I do support a revenue restructuring proposal that is designed to protect the services our community values while delivering real property tax relief to homeowners. The plan pairs a permanent 50% reduction in the city portion of property taxes in a modest 1% municipal earnings tax. That's not a trade. It it is a trade. It's not simply adding a tax. Now, levies have helped Beaver Creek for decades, and voters rightly decide their fate, but levies are tied to property value, not the ability to pay. Homeowners have borne all the burden as property values rise. This proposal spreads the co the cost more fairly across people who use city services. including the nearly 24,000 people who work here but don't live here. With a municipal earnings tax, part of the cost is to be shared by those who rely on our roads, police, and infrastructure every day, even though they don't live here.

And they pay nothing to Beaver Creek for those services. Now, municipal earnings taxes in Ohio generally exempt most retirement income. Social Security and many pensions are not taxed at the city level. Shifting revenue from property to earnings tax actually protects many residents on fixed incomes who otherwise would face property uh tax bills, higher property tax bills. The city council is your responsibility to continue setting policy and voters will have the final say if council places this measure on a ballot. By law, any changes made to earnings tax or property tax would have to be approved by voters. The spread the spending priority means remains subject to public scrutiny through city budgeting processes, council meetings, and regular elections. Simply said, diversifying the revenue sources will reduce the pressure on property tax.

I devote my three minutes to Miss Albero. Your name and address.

Thank you, Jim. Simply said, diversifying the city's revenue sources will reduce the pressure on property tax, which has historically landed on homeowners. The 17,000 Beaver Creek residents, and that is according to the This is according to the Miami University study that was done last year. That's Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The 17,000 residents who work side of outside of Beaver Creek will receive credits for taxes paid to other municipalities so they are not taxed twice on the same earnings. Finally, this is about stability. Relying almost entirely on property taxes makes us vulnerable to market swings and potential statewide changes to property tax law. A diversified revenue base helps us plan responsibly for roads, public safety, parks, and senior services without repeatedly asking homeowners to shoulder the cost. I ask you to consider the facts to the community. Consider the facts, not the fears. This proposal aims to protect what we love about Beaver Creek. Safe streets, well-maintained parks, and strong services while making the tax system fairer and more resilient for everyone. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close the public portion of this and we'll go around the corner. Let's do uh Councilman Bales.

I'd be happy to. I have again prepared a statement that I'll read and I I appreciate all of the public comment. Uh I think there's a a lot at stake. There's a lot to consider and um I respect those who are not in favor of an income tax. That's your choice. Um, but I think Beaver Creek is at this crossroads that we do need to be proactive and um and look towards the future. And so I have prepared a written statement I I will read. Um I think it's safe to say that none of us get excited about paying taxes. Um, nobody jumps for joy to go write out that check. It's certainly not my favorite thing, right? Every Beaver Creek resident works hard for the money they earn. And any discussion we have about taxes, whether that's income tax or property tax, needs to be done very thoughtfully and with a lot of respect. But tonight, this decision is not about whether we like taxes. It's about how we responsibly fund the city of Beaver Creek, the city that we've all chosen to call home. Beaver Creek to me is a very special place. I've lived here my entire life. It's safe. It's wellmaintained. It provides a high quality of life that I am very proud of and I think all of us up here are. Those things do not happen by accident. They are the result result of thoughtful investment in public safety and infrastructure in

parks and in services that our residents and myself rely on every single day. Last week, Council Member Bills and I had the opportunity to meet with a large group of residents and we listened carefully to their concerns and questions regarding the proposal. We heard some confusion about what it means to permanently eliminate 50% of property taxes and we responded tonight by clarifying the language in the ordinance um eliminating tax taxes property taxes 50% of city taxes that start in the year 2027. I am very proud that we took that action and thank you to our finance director and staff for um implementing that so quickly. We also heard concerns about limiting public public indebtedness and restricting how income tax dollars could be used. Under Ohio law, debt limits are tied to property valuations. And if property taxes are ever eliminated, it's reasonable to think that the state will establish a new safeguard. But even then, historically, Beaver Creek has maintained a very limited general obligation debt, and I will continue to advocate that we continue to do that. I believe that we must be flexible in how our funds are used because we cannot predict every future challenge. Whether that's an unexpected facility issue like mold at the police station or the possibility of even the city taking on fire and EMS services at the township level if if they lose all of their property taxes. Placing rigid restrictions on how our funds can be

used today could prevent us from meeting critical needs of tomorrow. We as council members have been elected to represent you and you have granted us with the trust to proactively protect our investment in our community and I take this responsibility very seriously. Our budget undergoes intense scrutiny. We have multiple work sessions, public meetings and ongoing discussions to ensure that every dollar represents the priorities of our residents. Understanding that we don't all agree on priorities, but we're here to represent the community at large. The better approach is to maintain flexibility now, and if future funding is needed, bring targeted and restricted levies or income tax initiatives to voters once we have real data and experience with income tax collections. I feel like that's a reasonable approach. I appreciate those residents who took the time to engage with us last week and I think their input made our proposal stronger. Today, our city is almost entirely dependent on property taxes to fund city services. That is not a balanced approach. It places a heavy burden on homeowners and particularly lows on fixed incomes and it leaves the city uh financially v vulnerable. This proposal creates a better path forward in my opinion. By implementing a modest 1% income tax and reducing the city's property tax by 50%, we are not only adding a new tax, we are restructuring the way our revenue is to be more fair, more balanced, and more sustainable. This approach provides real relief to homeowners. It protects our seniors whose retirement income is not subject to income tax and it allows those who

work in Beaver Creek and benefit from our services every day to pay their fair share. It creates something we do not have today and that is stability. Right now relying on a single major revenue source is really uh could be a burden if our property taxes decline like they did in 2008. Um, it puts our city at risk. We have seen what cuts really look like. We have had to reduce services already at our senior center. We have had to not replace broken playground equipment. Those are not abstract decisions. Those are real impacts that our community is facing today. There's also a real uncertainty ahead with the potential constitutional amendment that could eliminate property taxes altogether. If that were to happen, we'd have no alternative uh revenue source in place and the consequences to Beaver Creek would be devastating. This proposal positions us to mitigate that risk. It's not proact it's it's proactive. It's not reactive. It also keeps us competitive. Even with a oneperson income tax, Beaver Creek would still be below most most all communities in our region. And importantly, a significant portion of that income tax would be paid by non-residents who work here and use our infrastructure every day. At the end of the day, it comes down to responsibility. Some residents will pay less under this structure. Some will pay more. I recognize that and every person will have to evaluate that for themselves. In my case, I will pay more, but I'm okay with that because I believe in this city. I believe in the services that we provide and I believe it's worth

investing in the future of a community that so many of us care so deeply about. It's a thoughtful, balanced, and responsible approach. It protects our residents, strengthens our financial foundation, and positions Beaver Creek to continue to thrive. And for those reasons, I will support this ordinance. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councilman Curran. Our second uh council members, fine expose. I think it's right on it. Anything else?

I think he said the whole story. It's uh it keeps us in a a good financial position to be able to meet the needs of this community. And uh you've got to have a flexible tax system. You've got to have one where you cannot just not depend as uh council member Bale said here on just one source of revenue. And I think uh the 1% we realize in the state of Ohio all cities are allowed to have a 1% income tax without a vote of the people. uh that's that's allowed under law and anything above that has to be voted on and uh we're we're following it very very well trying to uh trying to meet the needs of this community and do a good job. Thank you.

We'll clarify something there that is true but we have a charter that says it has to be people. So council bills

uh thanks uh Pete for your statement. I appreciate it. Uh just like the last meeting. Uh well said. Um I did enjoy our meeting uh with the citizens that came and I uh appreciated the questions and uh I've had some time to to sit, you know, with the concerns. Um, and I do want to ask a couple questions about um, a couple of the issues that have been brought up. Yeah. Yep. He here he comes, Mr. Graham. He knows. I would like um I would like to discuss a little bit about the under 18 because I understood why that was a concern because um the state you know changes their opinion and people in this community have this concern that even though the state is saying one thing that it can you know they can change on a whim and you know the the kids are getting taxed again. So, the tax code that is before council for approval actually specifies that um anyone under section uh o uh up there specifically says if you're under 18, you are not subject to this tax. Now, right now, that's consistent with the state law, but it's in our tax code. So unless the state were to come out with a law that said you must tax everybody who's under 18, our tax code would still prevail unless it were changed.

Okay? So I just want real clarity. So it's in there. It's clear. The kids are not going to get taxed. They are under 18. They are not subject to the proposed income tax. All right? And that can't change. That's solid. I mean, there's I just want to make just I wanted said like there's not a loophole, you know, because that's it's a real concern. So again, I cannot envision a scenario where the state would say you must tax people who are under the age of 18. Right.

It's just not something I I could see happen. I know it sounds silly to make you, you know, say it over and over, but I want to make sure it's clear. Um the other um the other issue I wanted to talk about was what about um because this is a real concern and I just I feel like we should be able to address this about the city charter language and and absolutely making it crystal clear in the language that we use that anytime for any amount ever this has to go before the electors to be voted on for any changes.

So, so the charter specifically says the council shall have no power to adopt and levy a city income tax without a majority vote of the electors voting on such levy. A levy by definition is a tax. So an increase in the current, you can't increase it without levying an additional. So the use of that word levy is very specific and it's not just specific to property taxes. If there were still an estate tax in the state of Ohio, it would be a levy. That is the, you know, ju just the terminology that's used for that those tax purposes. So, I not an attorney, but I firmly believe that the use of the word levy addresses not only the current proposal, but would address any future proposals.

Um, Mr. Lounbury, can you speak to any of that about the the language around this that it's it's solid, it's what the people want, it means what they think it means. in particular. What specific issue that just about this issue of it always absolutely needing to go back to the elector.

Oh, sorry. Uh that's required by law. U state law says that anytime that a city wants an income tax greater than 1%. So if you have if if Beaver Creek has a 1% income tax and we wanted to raise the income tax by a tenth of a percent, that would require voter approval. If you wanted to raise it by 1%, it would require voter approval. Anything above 1% by state law requires a vote of the people,

right? I just I'm I've heard this concern not just from the people that we had at community conversations, but I've heard it from others as well. This seems to be a real issue of concern that they're just afraid that, you know, there is a way around. And I I I want to meet that concern and to meet the need. Um and just for it to be clear, I was going to just say in addition to the state law, the charter would require us even if the state law changed, the city's charter would require us to go back to the citizens for any increase in citizens are doubly protected not only by state but also by the city charter.

Correct. from anything going back and being changed without their vote raising the income tax in any way requires their approval in Beaver Creek. All right. Thank you. That's all I've got. Thank you very much, Councilman L. Thank you, mayor, and thank you, M Councilman Bales. I appreciate that. He was eloquent

and precise. I agree with everything you had to say. I do want to um thank everybody who came out tonight, not just for your comments here, but I'm also really glad you was here to hear how great our police department is. And I hope everybody took note note of the satisfaction, the awards that are given out. We have a young group of men and women out there who are doing a really good job for Beaver Creek and we pay them we pay them with tax dollars. Nobody likes taxes as we all pay taxes. Uh we were well I shouldn't say we I know specifically I was spoken to before I ever became a councilman about the problems with the city having all their money coming from one basket. That there was no diversification at all. At any time there could be a problem. uh there would be as and we and we see a problem coming down the road very very possibly if there is an abolishment of of property tax there could very likely be a significant change in the way that it it can be enforced. I I want to address specifically the comment about us not talking to state representatives and not getting out there and getting information from them. We have to let everybody know the state isn't coming to help. Period. All right, this is on us. If any of you know differently and know of a a senator out there that says, "Yeah, I'm going to come and I'm going to bail Beaver Creek out." You need to let let us know up here because we don't know that person and they're not stepping forward. And those questions have been asked. Um the comments about it's not surprising that this is happening now. Um, it it kind of shocks

me because I know that some of these people that made these statements were specifically the same people behind the drive to eliminate property taxes. Well, no kidding. Guess what happens if we have no property taxes? The city has no revenue. You know, you don't think that we've had conversations up here with each other about what happens. It's called how do you systematically dismantle a city when it has no revenue. Those are the kind of conversations that you end up having. All right. There is no money. There is nobody coming to save us. All right. Things change. You know, Beaver Creek's been great. They've done a great job. I I truly believe I I wanted to get on city council for the reason of seeing how money was was being handled. Um the the people of the city are good stewards with your money. We are a limited services community and the services everybody receives in this community are outstanding. We have you go through any city in in Green County, the streets are better, the law enforcement's better. You know, people come to our city. They come here to work. They come here to play because it's great. You know, we have been a good stu stewards of your of the citizens money. I take offense to that. An income tax isn't an earnings tax. it does help diversify the money that's coming in for the city. The the idea of of putting labels on every dollar that comes in is is is rather absurd. You know, if a if a household was to save up money and say this money I've save I've set aside is for a roof only and their water heater goes out and says I got to go get a loan because I can't use that money. It makes no sense. You got to be careful designating every dollar that comes into the city as as a as a line item.

I believe that city council at this time would be derelic in our duties by not supporting this proposal for the citizens to vote on. You know, we're not up here saying this is going to happen. We're saying put it on the ballot. Make people understand what we're looking at here. It's serious. It's real. you know, and it is going to give um relief to people who have asked us to find relief for them and and the people that are out here that want to abolish property taxes. We're talking about a 50% from the city's portion to get rid of and still you want to stand up and say you're opposed to that. It I don't understand that at all. And I guess you can explain that to the people that that you're supporting in that uh endeavor. But I I appreciate everybody being here. I like hearing I like hearing their input. I I wish the room was full. Every time we have any type of a meeting, it it's better. You get more done. Um get better direction. And that's all I have, mayor. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I want to echo and thank everyone for coming out tonight, taking time out of your day to come speak with us. It's much appreciated. I'm sometimes asked by friends who reside outside of Beaver Creek uh what it's like to be on city council. I thoroughly uh enjoy it. I'm thankful for the opportunity every day. Our discussion around taxes is a Gordian knot is the way I describe it to them. Um given the input from the public, you can clearly see the divides in the city and some of the challenges that we face in making a decision. And it's here where context is useful because Beaver Creek is one of three municipalities in Ohio without an income tax. Uh the others being Bellbrook and Courtland. Municipality. A city is defined as any um codified municipality with a population in excess of 5,000 people. If we were to extend that definition to 10,000 people, there are 191 cities, again with a population of in excess of 10,000 in Ohio. 190 of them have an income tax. Diva Creek is the sole one without. A and yet by design, those that founded our city in discussions in the late 1970s with um full status in 1980 opted to do that. That was part of the decision and uh since then we've seen numerous attempts to put in place an income tax. Two points are driving my decision for tonight. The first is that successive

conservative Republican auditors of state have said to us uh that yes uh your bookkeeping is great. Yes, you are very good stewards. No, it is not good to have all of your eggs in one basket. The second factor is the property tax abolition movement. And I will say candidly I have some philosophical support for the idea. Uh there's a lot more to say on that but uh I'll say I have some level of philosophical support should it occur. Uh and it's hard to know exactly how the pieces will fall. The last property tax collection will be in August of 2027, meaning uh some extraordinarily difficult decisions will need to be made. Uh I've lived in countries, regions with a value added tax, a VA, VAT, a general sales tax, a GST. None of those are good options. And so given those two major issues confronting us, uh, I am in support of putting this, uh, of this ordinance. Mayor, thank you.

Thank you very much, Vice Mayor Hton.

Thank you, Mayor Adams. And again, thanks everyone that came out tonight. Uh, it's great to have a full house. Wish we had it more often. I don't know that I can add anything more than what's been said tonight. Um, other than to reiterate what I had said at our last meeting. Um, you know, it was mentioned by one of the commentators tonight that this is the fifth or sixth attempt uh of the income tax initiative. Um, and from the from the ones that I'm familiar with, I'll be honest, I'm at least one predates me. Um, this is the most restrictive ordinance that we've put forth, right? It specifically calls out and tonight we added more language uh of what levies are being eliminated permanently. Um, and that's that's dollar for dollar. You want to get into special use of how how the dollars are going to be spent. It's not going into a new pot. Uh, the dollars would not go towards a new building. The dollars are going specifically to reduce property taxes. All right. The levies that were mentioned are there. We're going to replace those. We're not going to add to them. We've seen the stats. 50, what was it? 52% of property tax is eliminated or was it 48 property

52 the residents will feel 52% reduction of their property tax bill uh city

of the city portion of the property tax bill you know we've got to play within the rules that we're given all right play within our ball field we can surmise all we want today about what happens with the state five years 10 years 10 months from now, right? If I was a betting man, I'd probably say that probably tax abolishment goes forward. Uh, and is fruitful. If that was the case, I would sit here and tell you we don't need 1%. We need four, five, or 6%. Right? But that's that's not the rules we have in place today. That's not the ball field we're playing on. We're playing within what we know uh today and that's where 1% is the responsible amount to move forward with as we know it. The 1% quite honestly will impact me. uh not going to say greater than anyone else here, but it, you know, as someone that lives and works in the city, I will be subject to the um the income tax and there's just no way that that 1% with a 50% reduction on the city portion of property taxes equates equally. So, I want to maintain the quality services that we have recognizing that we can't continue to rely solely on property taxes. The only other tool in our toolbox that the state allows us today is an income tax option. Uh by putting forth this very restrictive ordinance, uh I think is the right step at this time. Uh so with that, you know, I'd encourage everyone to learn more about it. Uh to continue the conversations that are being had uh and to continue to u look at what's available to us. Uh with that, Mr. Mayor, that's all I have.

Thank you very much. Uh, I echo pretty much everything that's been said here tonight. Uh, I do resent the fact that someone said that we're not looking into this. Uh, I'd lose sleep over this because if the property tax initiative goes through, the only two options we have as a city, and correct me if I'm wrong, Josh, is an income tax or property tax. You don't need to correct it. You're That's absolutely correct.

That's what I thought. If property tax goes away and we don't have an income tax, we don't have a city. It's just that simple. I don't want to be the mayor of a city that goes away. So, I lose sleep over this. We have looked I've talked to everybody all the way up. I'm a part of the Ohio Mayor's Alliance, top 30 cities in the state of Ohio population. Every one of them is concerned. They all have an income tax to fall back on. when they hear that I s tell them like we don't have one, they just look at me and shake their head. I said, "How do you do it?" We do it because we have a staff that works their tail off to give us these quality services and I will put our services in this community above anybody else in this county for certainly and probably in the state as well because we got a police department is top-notch. Our our street department, I've got comments even from people in this room about how good a job they did this year. So, I mean, that'll all go away, guys. It's just that simple. You can sit there and shake your head all you want. The only two options we have, property tax and income tax. Oh, go ahead. I want to hear that. Stand at the the mic. How you doing? Edmalof 44128 point, Beaver Creek. First of all, you can bill us for the services. Number one, you can bill me for the police. You can bill me for the fire. You can bill us. Don't tie it to our homes. Second of all, you haven't talked to the new governor about what he's planning on doing. So, don't say the city's not the state's not going to help us right now. They're doing it because we're under a governor who doesn't want to help us out. But again, technically speaking, they're going to dictate what we can do. Okay? The state of Ohio has money. Okay? Don't deny it. We've already been told, personally, I've been told they will not write a check.

Well, they're going to have to because you're not going to be the only Excuse me. Excuse me. How do you not get that to happen? Because we're not going to be the only county. The two people that are running for treasurer, the two people that are running for state treasurer, one of them has signed the petition, is in full support of it. Second of all, the other one who's not fully in support says, "I don't have a problem. If it passes, we'll work with it and no services are going to be cut." Those are this point. We have two things we can count on. Regardless of what you say, regardless of what's happening 5 months from now, 10 months, we have two options that we can look at. We have property tax. We have income tax. We have to do what we think is best for this city right now. We can't go with that.

Okay. So, but you're telling me we're done. That's 50% for what? Well, yeah. It's it's 50% of what the city charges, right? We can't do anything about the rest of it. That's all we have control of. Yeah, but you can go to the state and lobby. No, we can't. We've tried that. I've been there too many times. So, I'm sorry, guys. I got a little carried away. I'm a little I'm a little passionate about this because I don't want our city to fall apart. I really do not.

I love this place. I've lived here a lot longer than most people have, and I don't want to see it fall apart. So, that's where I am. Okay. Do I have a motion? All right. Uh,

yep. I motion to approve ordinance 26-10 as amended. Second. A motion and a second to approve uh ordinance 26-10 as amended. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Very good. Ordinance 26-11.

Ordinance 26-11. an ordinance enacting and adopting a supplement to the code of ordinances for the city of Beaver Creek and declaring an emergency. Um, periodically all ordinances are codified along with the Ohio Revised Code updates and uh these ordinances were uh previously adopted, but this allows um the updated Ohio revised code sections and any new zoning code updates to be adopted by city council. Um, this process is completed uh to be in compliance with section 73121 of the Ohio Revised Code. This is supplement 40. Um, these are ordinances and resolutions that were passed from April 22nd of 2024 through July 5th of 2025. And once you send everything over to them, then they go through everything, send it back to us. It just takes some time to do. Um, this is also something that I want to send back to American Legal and start the next batch from 6525 to the point where the zoning uh the land use plan update is complete is in effect. So that will be coming up probably within a month. And I'll just quickly add, mayor, that this helps us everything that you guys pass on ordinances and stuff that control that get loaded into, you know, the online where you can view that. There is no additional charge. Like I'm I'm just I'm making this up, but say it was $2,000 a year to codify the ordinances. If we do it every six months, it's $1,000 a six months. So it it's the same cost. So, we're figuring doing it more frequently enables the uh legal research and all the ordinances to be up todate quicker. Uh that way if somebody's looking at what changed, it it will be updated instead of waiting a whole year for the online to catch up.

Right. I I wanted to get the land use plan as soon as it's effective and everything from 65 up to them and then everything from now until when the zoning code updates are completed which hopefully will be about eight months.

Very good. This is an ordinance so it uh we will open it to the public if you want to come forward and speak to it in any form. State your name and address. You have three minutes. proud 2187 bass court and the issue that I had in reading it was with one section and that was a definition of a bicycle. I do have the paragraph reference on my paper over there but uh I did talk with the police chief. He says there's a section I did read it earlier. I have to go back and verify, but I think the definition of saying that it a bicycle is solely powered by a human does not keep pace with technology and we now have bicycles that are electrified and things of that nature. So, when I go back and read it, I'm going to probably be reapproaching the city council to see if we can get something else updated to reflect bicycles that do include the electrified bicycles and things of that nature. And that's all I have. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Anyone else? Seeing none, I'll close the public portion. Uh, council, anything.

Mike, move it to the second reading as an emergency. Second. I have a motion and a second to move ordinance 2611 to a second reading as an emergency. All those in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Now we reach that point for citizen comments. Anyone would like to come and speak to council on any subject, you have three minutes. Come to the podium. State your name and address. Seeing none. Oh, I'm sorry.

Come up again. You get a set of steak knives, my friend. Bob Trout 2187 Bass Court says some of the comments that I did hear regarding uh the different income tax reasons and things of that nature. We are a city and one of the things that's important if we're a city worth our salt, we're going to get people that want to come into this community and they're not going to be paying taxes for the roads or anything else like that. And I just think it is very lame that we keep harping on the fact that the we say, "Well, the roads are get." Yes, they do get used a little bit more. Yes, that's expected, but it's not something that we should dwell on or anything else and say if we are a city that draws in a community and surrounding community, that's just part of the cost to operate. And I think we need to be aware of that and do our best to to have a good city that people want to come and visit and everything else like that. We've got uh right state, they got the uh stadium and everything out there. We've got good shopping and things of that nature. They come to the community. So yes, they're going to use our roads. They're they're going to come over here, but they're going to spend money. So like I said, if you do that, I'll bring a violin next time and play. I cry for you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?

Sorry. I just

I can't help it. I'm I Alberico, 529 Talwood Drive. When you have 24,000 people coming into your city every day and using your services, it's not a drop in the bucket. Yes. And we do appreciate people coming to Beaver Creek, using our businesses and our local local things that we do here in Beaver Creek, our popcorn festival, right? State univer, you know, all the things. It's great, but 24,000 people paying a 1% income tax could make up a significant portion of the general fund. It's not a drop in the bucket. So, it's not whining. It's a real and it will help the city's finances. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close the citizen report and we will go to council time. Start with uh Councilman Der.

Thank you, Mayor. had the opportunity to address the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Beaver Creek High School. Uh really a wonderful group. uh grateful for uh that opportunity and uh to share my testimony, my faith in uh Jesus Christ uh with those young people and um really just uh great uh young people coming through our our system, people that care deeply uh about the community, heavily involved in in church life. Uh, Chief, I would like to uh have a shout out for Officer Durkin who provided Alice training at Kirkmont uh church, especially with the preschool. Uh gave them some really great uh options and ideas in case uh the worst uh things happen. Uh really grateful for his professionalism and the way that he's out in the community. And I want to congratulate you and all the officers that received uh letters and various awards. uh some just terrific representatives of our community. I want to thank uh Mrs. Frost and many of the teachers at Shaw Elementary School. I had the opportunity to watch uh the Jungle Book play of which one of my daughters was involved. But uh when speaking with people in adjacent communities and elsewhere, there are very few that have this high quality uh opportunity to to perform. Uh and it really is remarkable year over year what they accomplish. Um over 120 students were part of this this play to just put on a sense of magnitude uh for that and so uh really remarkable and I'll leave it there mayor. Thank you.

Thank you very much Councilman Lero.

Thank you mayor. I keep this very brief. I I want to uh congratulate the police department and thank the chief for the job that he does. Truly appreciate it. It got a quite It's It's amazing because you have such a a young department. I think it's it's it's amazing. It's so good for the citizens of Beaver Creek to understand how big a deal that is. I'd also I want to the the construction crew. I want to give kudos to the construction crew that that did that widening of of North Fairfield Road um just uh on the north side of Dayton Zeni Road widening that area. They I believe that they did a stellar job. I'm not sure who those contractors were, but I'd like you give them a shout out. Let them know they did a good job of keeping stuff cleaned up all the time. Mud off the roads. Um sometimes that's a that that's a little thing, but it's a big deal to citizens when they're driving to an area. traction and everything and they I think that they did a good job navigating those big snows, moving stuff out of the way, helping getting the snow removal out of the way and everything. I was impressed and I'm really really glad to see all those cones gone. It's nice. Um that's really all I have there. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Curran. Thank you, your honor. Again, I'd like to congratulate the department

and uh we've got a stellular department in my mind and it's evidenced by what we saw tonight and the different recognitions and chief you've got a lot uh it's great operation. Number two, had an opportunity to hear about the project emerge at our Rotary. Again, continuing to try to advance people's lives uh coming from uh uh a lot of difficulty and giving them the opportunity to learn a trade and uh she uh the speaker was just giving us the advancements of what they're doing and what they're going to be doing in the future. also had an opportunity to attend the opening of Dillards, our new anchor out at the right at Fairfield Mall and uh was really a a great occasion to see the people come in and just uh look at the fascinating store itself. Lastly, uh my wife and I had the opportunity today to attend the senior citizens Easter lunch. The ham was great. It was really a super super uh activity. There are about 120 plus people that attended it. Thank you, your honor.

Thank you, Councilman Dales. Thank you. Uh, I'd like to welcome the Boy Scouts that are in the audience tonight. I appreciate you coming out and witnessing the uh public legislative process. Uh, it's always interesting, especially when we've got a good debate on our hands. So, thank you for being here. And I've said enough. Councilwoman Bills.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, everything I've got is environment themed. So, I get to uh take first class of the certified land steward uh training that is being offered by our Beaver Creek wetlands um to help us protect our environment and to learn more of what we can do on our own and to volunteer at the wetlands. there's a commitment that I've had to make to donate a certain amount of hours to receive that training. Um, I also got to meet with uh Dr. Talamy who came into town um to talk all about what we can do in our own backyards to uh preserve our environment and to take care of one another and our communities. Um, also just in the last week, I also was able to go to my environmental leadership class, which is another another thing I'm doing through Dayton Partners with the environment. Um, it's all very enjoyable and uh, highly recommend citizens look into any of those things. And that's all for me.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Upton.

Thank you, Mayor Adams. Uh, just a couple shout outs uh, for me tonight. Uh, unfortunately, my bracket has been busted. But I did want to recognize Wright State for making it to the uh, NCAA tournament. Uh, if you watch the game, uh, it was a great first half. Uh, I thought the second half was good, but uh, unfortunately Wright State, my alma mater, didn't come out ahead. U, so bummed about that. But I am excited for University of Dayton Flyers. there in the NIT tournament and hosting Wednesday night here at UD Arena for the first time since 2010. So, we still got something in the area to cheer for uh on college basketball. Uh so, I'm excited to see some of that. But, um outside of that, I think we all got an invitation recently to the Green County Township Association's legislative meeting uh next month in April. Um I did put it especially on my calendar because I do plan to attend uh and the discussions around Ohio property tax reform versus property tax elimination. Uh so I think uh having a that local conversation would be good obviously very timely. I encourage you all to to take up the invitation. I believe we got that from trustee Dfani in Creek. Take a look at that.

Thank you very much. First of all, I want to thank everybody for coming out tonight, too. U I apologize for uh getting a little passionate about my city, but I'm not going to change. That's who I am. And u I guess I shouldn't apologize for it because that's who I am. But uh there's one thing that I need to address before I get into this. I've got several things I won't cover at all, but uh something was said tonight that it's just a drop in the bucket to people coming into our city. Well, 75% of our police calls are non-residents. That's far more than a drop in the bucket and they're not paying for any of those services. So, that's just something that to consider as well. Uh, I was able to attend the groundbreaking for the new EUL enhanced lease use building. It's out on National Road. That's going to be an amazing place. Uh, the first building has not gone up yet. It's going to be 88,000 square feet. They've already sold it out. I mean, it's amazing the number of people are coming in. That's not in Beaver Creek, it's in Fairborn. So, actually, I think it's in Bath Township. I was able to attend the Beaver Creek High School job fair. Uh, that's something they've done for several years now that, uh, is really getting bigger and bigger. There were over 36 businesses there, and it was packed when I was there, people looking for jobs. So, I talked to several people afterward, and they did pick up several employees, which was really good. Uh, went to the ribbon cutting for Boot Barn in Beaver Creek. kind of made me nostalgic for home. I grew up in South Dakota and I used to wear a lot of that stuff. So, uh was able to attend the annual awards banquet for the 445th Air Base Wing at the Museum of the Air Force where they recognized members of the wing and then they also presented awards to Fairborn in Miami Valley for support for Miami Valley Military Affairs Association for their support. Uh I rushed out of here last week to the uh BIS or the uh work session because I was welcoming in uh teams to the double

tree in the Hilton Garden in for the first four. Uh and then got to go to the game on Monday night or Tuesday night. That was uh that was kind of fun. Uh I was able to go to the ribbon cutting for Dillards. It was uh there were over 500 people there. It was amazing. I I don't think I've seen that many people for a ribbon cutting or grand opening anywhere out here, but uh they're making a real commitment because my understanding is as the uh uh House of Sport up there, Dick's House of Sport, they bought their building and I think Dillard's bought their building as well. So, they're making a huge investment in in the city of Beaver Creek. Uh, Councilman Bales and I attended the celebrating courage event for violence free futures where it recognized uh some of its longtime supporters. And then yesterday I was able to attend the sixth anniversary of the Blueest Star Families of Southwest Ohio. It's an organization that really helps out young airmen especially, but most all military. When they started this six years ago, they had 500 families that they serve. Today they serve over 5,000 families in the military. So I I do what I can to help support them. And I think that's all I have. Mr. Landram.

Okay, Mr. Mayor. Uh if I may, just a little clarifying on the on the police. Uh you're correct. It's not necessarily calls like people think 911 calls. Um but 70 to 75% of major categories are non-residents and that is tracked like the people that are police department arrest 70 75% non-residents the people that accidents uh that they attend to non-residents 70 75% 70 75% of the tickets that they write are non-residents. So that that's uh meant by you know the call but the uh things that they attend under all those uh categories and many more uh tonight just real quick uh on the report just a couple items safety town registration I tell you uh from the golf to the summer camp which I'm coming up on when these uh open up uh the the signups open up for things such as this they go quick so I do encourage uh when things open up to please quickly go to the website. Don't wait. Registration for Beaver Creek Safety Town opens Wednesday, April 8th. So, write that down on your calendar and get ready to go on to the website and uh uh sign up for the registration. Class size is limited and sessions will be first filled on first come first serve uh exclusively uh if there's firsttime attendees. Uh so, a link on the registration form will be posted to the beaver creek.gov/ /safetytown and volunteers can also apply on the website for everything that Beaver Creek does. We need uh of course uh volunteers. So please sign up and help us out on a volunteers especially those organizational groups sometimes like optimist or uh other volunteer groups sign up church groups or anything come come help us out. uh summer day

camps. Uh again, this is uh one I know there was a one date at least that sign filled up within an hours. Uh but there are still some summer day camps uh available. So registration are open uh now ages 6th to 13. Two camps offered uh the Monday through Friday and then uh both of them one's June 8th through July 31st at Fairbrook. Uh the other is June 8th through August 7th at CI Beaver Hall. Uh, view the schedule and register online. Beaver Creek, Ohio. Uh, beavercreek.mmyrec.com. Uh, spring into adventure. Uh, this is what we call this now. Used to have a spring fling or spring kitefly. You know, it had different names. It's been retitled spring into to adventure. Saturday, April 18th, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It's our kickoff. Uh, Domino Lefeno Park, 640 Graange Hall. So, celebrate arrival in the spring and return warmer weather, games, inflatables, and food. This event is free uh for all ages. And as we go, we'll have uh thank some sponsors because sponsors provide food and and things like that. Once we get all the commitments done, we'll be absolutely thanking our sponsors. And that's it tonight.

Thank you very much. Uh Councilman Curran, do you have something for us? Move to adjourn, your honor. Second. Have a motion and a second to adjurnn. And all those in favor signify by saying I I. We are adjourned. Good presentation.